Patch panels are widely used to manage network cable connections between networked devices and/or network infrastructure equipment. Typically, incoming and outgoing network cables are affixed to the back side of the patch panel, with each cable wired to a respective port located on the front face of the panel. Connections between the networked devices can then be managed by connecting selected ports on the front of the patch panel together using patch cables. Patch panels allow a technician to easily reroute, isolate, segment, or reconfigure physical networks from a single location.
While conventional patch panels can conveniently organize network connections at a single location and facilitate flexible re-arrangement and expansion of network connections, unmonitored patch panels require a network administrator or technician to be present at the panel in order to determine, by visual inspection, which ports and associated network branches are connected together. Tracking and documenting these network connections can be a laborious undertaking. Moreover, network reconfigurations made by a technician at the patch panel can easily go undocumented, requiring other technicians to visually inspect the patch panel connections in order to determine how the connections have been altered.
The above-described deficiencies of conventional patch panel systems are merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of current technology, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with the state of the art, and corresponding benefits of some of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein, may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description.